Dumfries House
Dumfries House | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 55°27′18″N 4°18′29″W / 55.455°N 4.3081°W |
Website | dumfries-house |
Listed Building – Category A | |
Designated | 14 April 1971 |
Reference no. | LB14413 |
Designated | 1987 |
Reference no. | GDL00149 |
Dumfries House is a
The estate and an earlier house were originally called
Due to its significance and the risk of the furniture collection being distributed and auctioned, in 2007 the estate and its contents were purchased by a consortium headed by the Prince of Wales, including a £20m loan from the Prince's charitable trust. The intention was to renovate the estate to become self-sufficient, both to preserve it and regenerate the local economy. As well as donors and sponsorship, funding was also intended to come from constructing the nearby housing development of Knockroon, a planned community along the lines of the Prince's similar venture, Poundbury in Dorset.
The house reopened in 2008, equipped for public tours. Since then various other parts of the estate have been reopened for various uses, to provide both education and employment, as well as funding the trust's running costs. The Prince of Wales was in residence at the estate on 8 September 2022, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, became gravely ill; he was transported by helicopter to Balmoral Castle, where she died later the same day.[2]
Designations
The house is a category A listed building, described by Historic Environment Scotland as "an exceptionally fine and unspoilt Adam mansion".[3] The grounds of the house are included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland, the national listing of significant gardens and parks.[4]
History
Lochnorris estate
Originally the estate was known as Lefnoreis or Lochnorris, and belonged to a branch of Craufurds of Loudoun. The original castle stood on the elevated ground close to the coach house.
Earl of Dumfries
In 1635, the estate was purchased from the Craufords by
Dumfries House was designed and built between 1754 and 1759, by Scottish architects
Marquess of Bute
In 1814, Dumfries House was inherited, along with the earldom of Dumfries, by John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marquess of Bute, and the property remained in the Crichton-Stuart family until 2007.[4] In 1885, the 3rd Marquess of Bute commissioned Robert Weir Schultz to design the pavilions.[5] The Crichton-Stuart family retained their main residence at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute. In the later 20th century, the house was lived in by the Dowager Marchioness of Bute, Lady Eileen, until her death in 1993.[7] The 6th Marquess died a few months later, meaning the house passed to her grandson the 7th Marquess, the racing driver known as John Bute (and formerly as Johnny Dumfries).[8]
Intended sale
With John Bute facing a bill from the death duties of both his father and grandmother, he considered selling the house. It was first offered to the National Trust for Scotland in 1994, but they declined. He instead retained the house, later replacing the roof.[8]
In 2004, it was again offered to the National Trust, but by 2007 negotiations had fallen through. In April 2007, it was announced the house would be sold and the contents auctioned separately.[8][9] The house was scheduled for sale through Savills and its contents for auction by Christie's. It was thought that some of the art and furniture might fetch nearly as much as the house itself; one Chippendale rosewood bookcase, for example, was valued at £2m-£4m.[7]
With the announcement of the sale, preservationists lamented the imminent dispersal of an ensemble said to have remained virtually untouched since an 1803 inventory, and organised a campaign intending to buy the house and hold it in trust under the Save Britain's Heritage organisation.[7] With the funding the campaign managed to raise still falling short, a sale via the auction route looked inevitable after Historic Scotland announced in May 2007 that they would not financially back the campaign.[8]
Charity ownership
The estate was finally purchased as a whole after
The trust was set up with the name "The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust", a reference to the title
The trust's intended model is to have the estate become a self-sufficient enterprise, in the process revitalising the local economy. The project was to be achieved through donation and sponsorship of various renovation projects around the estate, as well as through revenues from the construction of an 'eco-village' in the grounds, a planned community called Knockroon.[8]
In 2008, the advent of the
Following restoration, Dumfries House itself opened to the public for guided tours on 6 June 2008.[13] From mid-2009, supermarket chain Morrisons began funding the restoration of the meat and dairy farm attached to the estate, both to become a research and education tool into sustainable farming methods, but also with the intention of its becoming profitable by 2014, part of the chain's vertically integrated supply chain.[14] Renovation of the former coach house and associated stable block began in winter 2010. It reopened in 2011 as a catering facility, as both a visitor cafe and bistro dining facility.[15] The first phase of the Knockroon village opened in May 2011.[16]
In October 2011, work was started on clearing the area that used to be the Walled Garden, which had fallen into disuse and become overgrown.[17] In April 2012, the six-bedroomed guest house Dumfries House Lodge opened, to provide guest accommodation for wedding parties and other events. It was created by renovating a derelict farm building on the estate. The estate's former water-powered sawmill has been renovated to full working order, and with the addition of a larger workshop building, has re-opened as the Sawmill Building Skills Centre, a traditional skills education facility.
King Charles, while Prince of Wales and known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay, continued to support Dumfries House. In September 2012, with Camilla, then the Duchess of Rothesay and known as the Duchess of Cornwall, and Alex Salmond, then the First Minister of Scotland, Charles attended Ladies' Day at Ayr Racecourse in aid of the Trust.[18]
In 2017, the Prince of Wales celebrated 10 years of Dumfries house; he was quoted in Dumfries House Magazine [19] as saying, "We now have over 150 employees and thousands of individuals using the estate. My hope, therefore, is that this publication can help to involve a wider audience of supporters by providing an insight to all that happens on this estate and to its even more important outreach work."
In May 2018, "The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust" was renamed "
In 2019, the BBC reported that
In October 2022, the King featured in a special edition of the BBC TV programme
In September 2023, the King held a Privy Council Meeting at the house for the first time.[24]
Gallery
Education
Dumfries House is home to several separate education centres where school pupils can visit to learn about topics ranging from science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) to farming and gardening. Education programs are linked into the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and offer pupils from the surrounding Ayrshires, Dumfries and Galloway, Glasgow and Lanarkshire an opportunity to learn about future careers and learn new skills.
Centres are open year-round to primary schools and secondary schools.
In 2022, the MacRobert Trust began funding a new purpose-built farming and rural skills training centre at Dumfries House, where the Prince's Foundation will host events and hands-on workshops for around 1,800 participants each year.[25]
See also
- Terringzean Castle, a ruin within the Dumfries House estate
References
- ^ "Historic mansion sold to nation". BBC News. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ Prynn, Jonathan (10 September 2022). "Queen died 'with Charles and Anne by side as other royals dashed to Balmoral'". Evening Standard. London. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "DUMFRIES HOUSE (Category A Listed Building) (LB14413)". Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ a b c Historic Environment Scotland. "DUMFRIES HOUSE (GDL00149)". Retrieved 30 December 2018.
- ^ a b c Close, Rob (1992) Ayrshire and Arran: An Illustrated Architectural Guide, RIAS, pp.140-141
- ^ Glendinning, Miles, MacKechnie, Aonghus, & MacInnes, Ranald (1996) A History of Scottish Architecture, Edinburgh University Press p.128
- ^ a b c d Auslan Cramb (28 June 2007). "Charles saves Dumfries House at 11th hour". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f Freyberg, Annabel (27 May 2011). "Dumfries House: a Sleeping Beauty brought back to life by the Prince of Wales". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011.
- ^ Tim Cornwell (5 June 2007). "Bid to save house for nation looks doomed". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- ^ Singh, Anita (17 December 2008). "The Prince of Wales appears on Antiques Roadshow". London: "The Daily Telegraph". Archived from the original on 31 October 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
- ^ "Statement from Clarence House about Dumfries House" (Press release). Clarence House. 9 September 2010.
The decision to buy Dumfries House and develop nearby land for housing involved, like any entrepreneurial activity, an element of risk, but the risks were manageable and fully covered.... The purchase of the house and nearby land and the preservation of the house's collection of Chippendale furniture for future generations was only made possible with the Foundation's contribution. The £20m loan taken out by the Foundation in 2007 was fully disclosed at the time and has since been refinanced and partly paid off.
The purchase of the House has not put any of The Prince's twenty charities at risk; indeed they all continue to deliver crucial services and support across a wide range of charitable needs.
- ^ Prince Charles: The Royal Restoration, ITV1, 29 May 2011
- ^ Auslan Crumb (6 June 2008). "Stately home Dumfries House finally opened to the public". The Daily Telegraph.
- ^ Butler, Sarah (24 October 2010). "Morrisons' farm gets royal seal of approval". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ McInnes, Yonnie (5 August 2011). "New Coach House Café and Stables 'break-out' conference facility opens at Dumfries House". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ McInnes, Yonnie (13 May 2011). "First phase of Knockroon's sustainable homes is launched by Hope Homes". Ayrshire Post. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ Neil, Alistair (2 November 2011). "Walled Garden gets make-over". Cumnock Chronicle. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ "Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visit Ayr Racecourse". The Scotsman. 22 September 2012.
- ^ Dumfries house magazine. "Dumfries house". princeofwales.gov.uk.
- ^ "The Prince's Foundation, Registered Charity no. SC038770". Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
- ^ a b c Verity, Andy; Oliver, James; Melley, James (4 March 2019). "Prince Charles charity link to Russian offshore network". BBC News. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
- ^ "The Royal Week 22-28 October 2022". Royal Family official website. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- ^ "King Charles III: Warm space opens at Highgrove House". BBC News. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
- ^ "Business transacted at the Privy Council, held by The King at Dumfries House - 15 Sept 2023" (PDF). Privy Council. Privy Council Office. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
- ^ Reid, Stuart (30 March 2023). "Dumfries House: Prince's Foundation plan for education centre". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
Sources and external links
- Official website
- Dumfries House Sunny Images and Interesting History
- Official announcement from Clarence House (27 June 2007). "Dumfries House saved for the nation". Retrieved 27 June 2007.
- Press release, from the Art Fund (27 June 2007). "Dumfries House saved for the nation". Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- "SAVE Dumfries House for Scottish and World Heritage". Save Britain's Heritage. May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- Tim Cornwell (28 June 2007). "Prince steps in with £20m to save Scottish furniture treasure hoard". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- Jenny Booth (27 June 2007). "Prince Charles saves Dumfries House for nation". The Times. London. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
- Annabel Freyberg (27 May 2011). "Dumfries House: a Sleeping Beauty brought back to life by the Prince of Wales". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 May 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.